Staying power

By Kent Pilcher / Board chairperson and Investment Committee chair

Every day, we’re hit with another headline about our tumultuous economy—inflation is up, the stock market is down, and uncertainty begins to seem like the only thing we can count on. Those ups and downs mean real, dire challenges to communities across the country, including ours, as our president and CEO, Sue Hafkemeyer, wrote last month.

But one piece of good news for us at the Quad Cities Community Foundation is the knowledge that our mission and the ways in which we carry it out remain unwavering, even in the most uncertain of times.

I’m not just talking about our steadfast passion and commitment. I’m talking about the steps we take to ensure that the resources we help make available to our community don’t come and go with the rise and fall of forces we can’t control. As an organization responsible for stewarding nearly $200 million in assets—and an organization that strives to be our region’s most trusted resource for community generosity—our ability to weather a stormy economy couldn’t be more important to us.  

We can do that because of our long-term investment outlook. Our Investment Committee, a group of highly skilled local professionals, oversees our investment policy and strategy. Together with outside advisors, the committee keeps our portfolio focused not on what might happen tomorrow, next week, or even next year but on what reliable data tells us we can expect over the next 10 years and beyond.

When it comes to grantmaking, our long-term approach means that resources are there for our community year in and year out, no matter what happens in the economy in the present. Grantmaking dollars from endowment funds will continue to provide consistent and reliable funding for nonprofits each year because they are based on average market values over the previous 20 quarters, or five years. That means one bumpy patch in the road doesn’t halt or even drastically slow the support they will receive. It means that we can be there when our community needs us the most.  

The stock market is always moving, and there is no portfolio that can outperform every market. But thanks to our Investment Committee’s expertise in maintaining that long view, we’re able to ride the waves. In fact, we can even identify the short-term opportunities created by a volatile economy like the one we’ve all been experiencing and channel them toward our long-term benefit. With patience, we can emerge from this market in a stronger position than we entered it. And that’s a benefit to everyone who partners with the Community Foundation, from the donors who trust us with their gifts to the nonprofits who receive grants to fuel their missions.

The longer we maintain this tried-and-true strategy, as the market grows over time, the more resources our community will have to address our most pressing needs and most promising opportunities. After all, many of those needs and opportunities will require ongoing, persistent effort and investment. Building a more vibrant, equitable, and inclusive Quad Cities doesn’t happen overnight—it takes staying power. We’re grateful for your generosity and your trust so that we can take on those big goals together.